Hiding or Removing Unwanted Start Menu Folders

raywood · Feb 6, 2025

In Windows 11 24H2, at C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs, I see these folders:

Windows Accessories
Windows PowerShell
Windows System
Windows Tools

I don't want them.

Sadly, experience in Win10 suggested that simply deleting them could be a bad idea. The alternate suggestion was to hide them, and then set File Explorer not to display hidden items.

Is this also the case in Win11?

dacrone · Feb 6, 2025

Those are only shortcuts. Deleting them hurts nothing

antspants · Feb 6, 2025

Hi, Ray.

There are two default Windows “Start Menu Programs” folder locations:

Code:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

And

Code:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

These folders contain shortcuts to the physical program locations.
Anything in Start Menu\Programs\ are shortcuts only
Deleting anything from either of these locations will not affect the physical items or locations of anything contained in them.

You can also add to these folders, like a link to a program.
You can also cut and paste (move) items in these two folders into folders you might want to create or combine.

Start Menu\Programs\
- My created folder\
  - Folders or shortcuts that were in “Start Menu\Programs” or shortcuts you add or folders that you created or moved from the hirearchy.

So you would end up with:

Code:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\My created folder’s\

OR (Depending on which Start Menu folder you use)

Code:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\My created folder’s\

A good example would be if you wanted to have a link in your Start Menu to a Microsoft Word or other type of document.

Create a shortcut to a document.
Paste the shortcut somewhere inside of Start Menu\Programs\

You can do the same with any shortcut to any type of physical location:
Apps, Documents, Bat files etc. I believe you could probably also place a web shortcut within these folders, although I have never done it.

raywood · Feb 6, 2025

Thanks for the quick replies.

I was previously informed that, as you say, the contents of those folders were just shortcuts - but that deleting the folders themselves was the likely cause of system instability I was experiencing in Win10. Hence the advice to hide but not delete them.

hdmi · Feb 6, 2025

One of multiple reasons why I use Open-Shell is because just the thought of futzing around with these kinds of concoctions from Microsoft makes me feel tired.

antspants · Feb 6, 2025

As long as you are deleting from the above mentioned locations, the only thing being removed is convienient access to the content.

If it would make you more comfortable, you could go to the Start Menu folder location and create another folder named whatever you like: Start Menu\Programs\Not used\

And drag\drop all the folders into that folder, at least you are minimising part of the structure by shortening it by 3 folders

Start Menu\Programs\
- Not used\
  - Windows Accessories
  - Windows PowerShell
  - Windows System
  - Windows Tools
- Other Folders
- Other Shortcuts
- Etc

raywood · Feb 6, 2025

I have a folder called _Incoming, where I put all the newly created shortcuts that programs are forever installing (aside from those that are batch-deleted by name every hour). I'll put them in there. Thanks for the suggestion.

raywood · Mar 10, 2025

Note: a later discussion seems to confirm that deleting rather than moving those folders causes problems in Windows 11, as in Windows 10.

antspants · Mar 10, 2025

That doesn’t confirm anything, at least not for me. And I don't see how, because deleting “SHORTCUTS” does not affect the underlying application or process. Less having to access them via another method, like the search bar.

And that’s all the icons in tese locations are, shortcuts:

Code:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

And

Code:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

But I can be confident, If I’m wrong, I am sure @garlin or @pseymour or someone with their expertise will correct me.

garlin · Mar 10, 2025

Long story short: ProgramData\Start Menu folders are considered shared resources. Files are supposed to be cloned when a new user's profile is created. While you can add new items to the folder hierarchy, removing the original content is considered breaking the Windows image.

Since Windows considers those files integral to the new user experience, SFC considers this as "damage" to repair.

You can't have it both ways, changing what Windows thinks it "owns" and wanting SFC not to complain at the same time. One cheesy solution would be to preserve the original folder structure and rename or move it. Replace it with your customized version. When you're ready to run SFC, then swap the two versions so Windows finds the files it expects. Swap back when done with SFC.

The only way to get past this would be to directly modify WinSxS's contents. Which you really don't want to do either.

antspants · Mar 10, 2025

garlin said:
Long story short: ProgramData\Start Menu folders are considered shared resources. Files are supposed to be cloned when a new user's profile is created. While you can add new items to the folder hierarchy, removing the original content is considered breaking the Windows image.

Since Windows considers those files integral to the new user experience, SFC considers this as "damage" to repair.

You can't have it both ways, changing what Windows thinks it "owns" and wanting SFC not to complain at the same time. One cheesy solution would be to preserve the original folder structure and rename or move it. Replace it with your customized version. When you're ready to run SFC, then swap the two versions so Windows finds the files it expects. Swap back when done with SFC.

The only way to get past this would be to directly modify WinSxS's contents. Which you really don't want to do either.

Interesting. I’ve never had a problem deleting said shortcuts from the Start Menu. But having said that, I ignore SFC and certainly aren’t bothered or obsessed with it’s findings, it does what it does and that’s it. So I’ve never noticed it complain or replace these folders if they had been removed. At least not to my recolection

garlin said:
One cheesy solution would be to preserve the original folder structure and rename or move it. Replace it with your customized version.

That was also suggested, in post number 6.

Cheers for that, Garlin.

garlin · Mar 10, 2025

Any folders or files which are delivered as part of the Windows component store (WinSxS) are watched by DISM and SFC. If you changed your own \Users\Antspants profile folders, that's a different thing than changing ProgramData's original set of installed files.

A major distinction is DISM and SFC perform all-or-nothing repairs. You can't specify to ignore some part of the Windows filesystem.

antspants · Mar 10, 2025

garlin said:
Any folders or files which are delivered as part of the Windows component store (WinSxS) are watched by DISM and SFC. If you changed your own \Users\Antspants profile folders, that's a different thing than changing ProgramData's original set of installed files.

A major distinction is DISM and SFC perform all-or-nothing repairs. You can't specify to ignore some part of the Windows filesystem.

OK. Well I for one would not doubt you, Garlin.

But I just went into my wifes laptop:

Code:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

and I deleted the System Tools folder

I ran:

drivers/maxclean (because it's in my script)
sfc /scannow
Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The folder wasn't replaced, nor do I see any evidence of issues created

I'm obviously not understanding something.

raywood · Mar 10, 2025

I was puzzled that, at least in Win10, I didn't seem to be getting problems if I moved those folders rather than deleting them - as long as I moved them into a Start Menu subfolder.

pseymour · Mar 10, 2025

antspants said:
But I just went into my wifes laptop:

Code:

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\

and I deleted the System Tools folder

I ran:

[snip]

The folder wasn't replaced, nor do I see any evidence of issues created

I'm obviously not understanding something.

Right, that's what garlin was saying. You can manipulate your own (or your wife's) user profile as much as you want. Those are not considered important system files. That differs from the Start menu shortcuts that are in ProgramData, which is the Start menu that applies to all users.

garlin said:
Any folders or files which are delivered as part of the Windows component store (WinSxS) are watched by DISM and SFC. If you changed your own \Users\Antspants profile folders, that's a different thing than changing ProgramData's original set of installed files.

Yep. I just installed a fresh VM, and it passed DISM ScanHealth and SFC, of course. I deleted all files from the all users Start menu folder. DISM didn't balk at this (makes sense), but a second SFC verification complained. An SFC scan restored the missing shortcut files. Not-quite-interestingly, it did not restore the desktop.ini files I deleted; I reckon they don't matter.

antspants · Mar 10, 2025

Yes, of course. I’ve gone and tested the wrong folders.

Edwin · Mar 10, 2025

Why not just Hide them?

raywood · Mar 10, 2025

Depends on whether you have set Explorer to view hidden folders generally.

Edwin · Mar 10, 2025

raywood said:
Depends on whether you have set Explorer to view hidden folders generally.

Doesn't matter, either way, they won't show in the Start Menu when you 'Hide' them.

raywood · Mar 10, 2025

Au contraire. If I've set File Explorer to show hidden items, they do appear despite being hidden.

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